A little over a week ago, one of Uber’s self-driving models had hit and killed 49-year-old Elaine Herzberg while she was walking her bicycle across a road in Tempe, USA. It has been stated that a test driver working for Uber was behind the wheel at the time.

The crash has resulted in a ban from Arizona Governor Doug Ducey, which has hindered Uber’s ability to get their plans back on track. For a fleet of autonomous vehicles deemed to be ‘ridiculously safe’, more so than regular drivers, this accident will have already shaken up researchers and manufacturers.

Uber had already began testing on roads in California and Pennsylvania, before operating in Arizona.

Now if people weren’t already put off enough by the innovation, a study by Driverless Guru states 57% of drivers surveyed said they would never buy a self-driving car, even if there was great affordability. A third of drivers surveyed agreed that it is safest to have semi-autonomous cars. Features would include park assist, optional autopilot and lane departure sensors.

If you look at automated cars, they cannot do a few things, such as:

Plan – e.g. change routes if they know there are roadworks ahead

Sacrifice for the greater good of others – In an emergency, an autonomous car does not have the programming installed to evaluate a situation to minimize fatality or to protect pedestrians. Makers of the technology cannot prepare the models for every scenario imaginable, the cost would be too heavy.

Despite this fatal crash, it is the first of its kind since tests began, which is flawless considering they’ve been around a few years.

Also, if you compare self-driving cars to regular motorists, there are some very clear leads:

Self-driving cars do not express emotion and stress, one of the leading causes of accidents and driver error

They stick to speed limits, and follow stopping distances coordinately, normal drivers are involved in fines and tickets as they break limits and do not drive cautiously enough.

Whether you want to buy one or not, I wouldn’t take this accident as a huge factor to consider, it is the first of its kind, and Uber/Google/Tesla can only build from it. Manual cars crash every day, and public safety can and will be improved by rolling out these models when the time is deemed right

Written By Harrison Jones

References : http://money.cnn.com/2018/03/26/technology/arizona-suspends-uber-self-driving-cars/index.html https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-03-27/uber-s-autonomous-cars-suspended-by-arizona-after-fatal-crash https://www.driverlessguru.com/self-driving-cars-facts-and-figures/ https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/are-autonomous-cars-really-safer-than-human-drivers/